The Michigan Legislature is about to go on a two-week Easter break. The six legislators listed in this email should not be allowed out of the Capitol until they reach a compromise to keep the Pure Michigan tourism advertising campaign alive.
Travel Michigan threatens to cancel the world-renowned and highly successful ad campaign by the end of this week if a legislative standoff doesn’t end right now.
Call and email these lawmakers immediately! Click on their names to send a pre-formatted email urging action today…
Senate Finance Committee Chairwoman Nancy Cassis — 517 373 1758
Senate Finance Committee Minority Vice Chairwoman Gilda Jacobs — 517 373 7888
Senator Jason Allen (author of a Senate Republican tourism funding proposal — 517 373 2413
House Tourism, Outdoor Recreation, and Natural Resources Chairman Joel Sheltrown — 517 373 3817
Representative Woodrow Stanley, author of a House Democratic tourism funding proposal — 517 373 8808
Tourism is a $17.5 billion industry in Michigan employing 200,000 people, according to a recent Senate Fiscal Agency report. Forbes Magazine recently ranked the Pure Michigan ad campaign as one of the best tourism marketing efforts of all time. Fueled by the Pure Michigan brand, the Travel Michigan web site has been the most popular state-sponsored tourism web site three years in a row.
The state-funded Pure Michigan national ad campaign “last spring and summer motivated 680,000 new trips to Michigan from outside the Great Lakes region,” according to Travel Michigan. “Those visitors spent $250 million at Michigan businesses last summer as a direct result of the Travel Michigan advertising program. In addition, these new out-of-state visitors paid $17.5 million in state taxes while in Michigan, yielding a $2.23 return on investment for the tourism advertising. Pure Michigan television commercials aired nationally 7,900 times on 15 cable channels in 2009, and they were seen by an estimated 60 million Americans from coast to coast.”
A House plan would provide a sustainable funding stream for the Pure Michigan ad campaign for years to come. Revenues would come, in large part, from a $2.50 per vehicle tax on rental cars at Michigan airports. There are at least 114 such car rental taxes in 43 states funding everything from teachers’ salaries to mass transit.
The Senate has rejected the House car rental tax. Instead, the Senate proposes $9.5 million in one-time funding – enough to keep the Pure Michigan limping along this summer and buy time for legislators to seek compromise on a longer-term funding solution. The House has rejected the Senate approach.
Travel Michigan’s conclusion…
“At a time when Michigan businesses are already hurting, canceling this revenue-generating campaign would be a tragedy,” said MEDC CEO Greg Main. “We’re grateful the Michigan House and Senate have demonstrated their support by each passing different bills to increase the Pure Michigan promotion budget, but to save the summer advertising season it is imperative they now reconcile those differences and come to an agreement prior to their two-week Easter break, beginning March 25th.”
The total tourism promotion budget for all seasons in 2009 was $30 million, which ranked Michigan as the sixth largest state tourism promotion budget in America. The current appropriation for tourism promotion in 2010 is $5.4 million, which would reduce Michigan’s state tourism budget ranking to approximately 42nd in the nation.
“Our national cable TV advertising was scheduled to start March first, but had to be postponed due to the lack of adequate funding,” said George Zimmermann, vice president for Travel Michigan, a business unit of the MEDC. “Our media buyers are telling us that April is now sold out, and that May will be soon. If we are not on the air in May, we will have missed the summer travel planning season for this year.”
6 Comments
I think the surcharge on car rentals is a more sustaninable method for funding travel and tourism
When will you make a link to facebook possible???
If the Pure Michigan ad campaign is such a good thing, why doesn’t the tourism industry fund it themselves.
That way taxpayers save their dollars, tourism industry gets the supposed tremendous payoff we have been hearing about, and the State gets increased sales tax revenues. And we don’t have to expand the role of government yet again.
Supposedly there is a $2 to $3 return to the State for every dollar “invested” in the Pure Michigan campaign. Is anybody calculating all of the overhead time and facilities of our government in that equation? I doubt it. Do that and you may well find for every $1 the state “invests” we get $0.25 back.
Sounds like a great deal for us non-tourism taxpayers.
Why must we continue to look to government to do what private individuals should?
If you want lower taxes stop asking the government to do what private enterprise should do themselves.
Dropping a program with at return on investment like the ad campaign, just shows how blatantly ignorant the governor of this state is. She continues to pet her favorite, unproductive, programs with zeal and vigor yet craps on a productive program (Money making) in blatant ignorance. One might be able to draw the conclusion that this governor is doing things just a bit bass ackward!
Definitely not the senate’s fault but the fault of her house. Perhaps someone needs to be recalled!
Please make this possible to share.
I’m with Tom Erdman – a link to Facebook would be a terrific way to reach folks.